Oilers Prospect Update: SKINNER!

Spring is (finally) in the air in Edmonton. The Prospect update is slowing to a crawl. Just the two players in the playoffs (Skinner and Berglund) in their respective leagues and Wichita updates remain.

The Thunder sit on the brink of elimination, trying to come back from the dreaded 3-0 down. They currently sit at 3-2 in the series, with game six going tomorrow night at 6:05pm MT. Lane Bauer has been a shining star for the Thunder this week with three points in four games. While Shane Starrett has been getting shelled with the shots in each game being 39, 32, 31, 29, and 41. While his team has only mustered, 14, 27, 19, 31, and 17. It will be interesting to see if Shane can keep them in it.

In the WHL Stuart Skinner put his Swift Current Broncos over the top with a shutout in Game 7 of the Semi-finals against Moose Jaw. The Broncos now face Skinner’s former team, the Lethbridge Hurricanes and he has settled right in with two wins to go up 2-0 in the series to start. Game three goes Tuesday at 7pm MT.

PROSPECT UPDATE BROUGHT TO YOU BY DONNAN and VIMY HOCKEY

Donnan and Vimy Hockey are Edmonton’s only public school hockey academies, developing Grade 3-12 student-athletes of ALL SKILL LEVELS. On the ice, Donnan and Vimy hockey focus on a variety of themes and units to maximize on-ice development and athletic movement. Away from the rink, Donnan and Vimy Hockey student-athletes receive off-ice training, exposure to multiple sports and activities, character building, leadership and goal-setting.

Stockton Heat also missed the playoffs but there are some damn fine prospects that played on that team.

Anyways, there is a huge influx of talent, real prospects, coming to Bakersfield next season – Benson, Lagesson, Marody, Hebig, hopefully Vesel, possibly Safin, possibly Yamamoto. Bakersfield should be a much more exciting team next year.

One priority for me this off-season is to hire a real development coach – Fleming’s contract is up and I don’t imagine there is any thought of bringing him back – should be.

He very well might go back to the Q, that’s why I said “possibly”. If so, its essential that S. John get some offensive players added to their roster – after they traded Valeno last year, Safin was out on an Island.

It’s mind boggling to me that people around here are more excited about a 20-something overall pick playing in the AHL than say a top 5 pick playing on the big team….cause now we are “developing” players… how backwards is that. Every team that picks lower is developing players; because they aren’t good enough to play right away. It’s not an organizational thing, it’s just a fact.

Maybe it’s the access to information world we live in that people think because they hear or read about these players means they are great players…mostly on that list they aren’t. The odds of older free agent players, (Hebig, Vessey, Marist), having any impact in the NHL in their whole career is just slightly above zero. Lagesson is probably not a whole lot younger than players on the team that have played for years in the show already. Leaves Yamo and Benson; legitimate chance for Yamo to produce eventually on big team with development, and Benson intriguing because of pedigree but has underachieved to this point, (due to injuries). Not exactly a murderers row if you ask me. Every team in the league will add a similar stable of players to their group and hope a couple pan out eventually.

I’m not saying anything revolutionary here, I guess just frustrated that this buzzword “development” gets thrown around as though it’s amazing what the team has going on because they will have some prospects in the AHL; you’d rather have Yamo in the A than say Draisaitl on the big team? Makes no sense.

Having actual prospects playing in the AHL, and yes developing as players, is exciting. Yes most will probably never play past that level and some will actually never perform at the AHL level and be sent down to the ECHL before washing out of pro hockey all together. But for a team that has been lacking young developing players at that level, and therefore a lack of young players ready to push for and NHL spot, this is exciting. It gives some hope. People are hoping for a coach that puts player development 1st by putting these young players in prominent roles so they can get better and play big minutes. That has been a complaint I’ve read by anyone that follows the team. Flemming would rather play AHL vets that will never help the big club over young prospects who might someday be able to help.
There is nothing wrong with the fans getting excited about this during a year the Oilers have been so disappointing.
I can be excited about these prospects and still love my Oilers. Be excited to see what McDavid will do next year, and how good he and Nuge will be together. I am excited to see Draisaitl continue to play well and hope the team finds him a better winger. I’m excited to Nurse continue to develope and to see how well Klefbom can play with a shoulder that is 100%. My excitement for the future of this team doesn’t have to be limited to either the NHL or AHL. And considering this article is about the prospects I think it is fully appropriate to talk about those prospects in the comment section.

My point was the reason the team hasn’t had many young developing players in the “A” is they’ve picked higher in the draft; a Draisaitl type player plays on the big team almost immediately, whereas a player picked 27th overall in the same draft is probably developing for a year or two in the “A” after junior. People say “we don’t have those guys”….no, we don’t; we have guys chosen higher that were ready, (theoretically), sooner.

we have still had a real lack of 2nd round picks and beyond developing in the AHL. Especially this year. A team needs prospects developing no matter what round they come from. Oilers had 5 of their own drafted players playing in Bakersfield this year and only 2 are actual prospects, Bear and Jones.
People are excited to see some more players the Oilers drafted enter pro hockey next year and more the year after.

Skinner needs to develop and moving him to the NHL right away is a really bad idea for a young goaltender. Firstly, the AHL is a big jump from the CHL and he should establish himself there. Goaltenders take more time to develop and moving him to the NHL before he’s proven himself makes no sense at all.